Cohen in talks for ‘Mummy 3′

Fraser, Weisz may reprise roles for sequel

Rob Cohen is in talks with Universal Pictures to take the reins on a third edition of its “Mummy” franchise.

Not much has been disclosed about the story crafted for “Mummy 3″ by scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, but the pic has been in active development for about a year as U looks to keep one of its remaining franchises up and running.

Though no deals are in place for franchise stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz to return, both thesps have had discussions about reprising their roles.

Stephen Sommers helmed the first two “Mummy” installments, released in 1999 and 2001; they logged a combined worldwide gross of $849 million.

Cohen has helmed two previous pics for U, “The Fast and the Furious” and “The Skulls.” He also directed “XXX” for Revolution and “Stealth” for Sony.

“Mummy 3″ is being targeted for a 2008 release. While U has several event pics planned for this year, including sequel “Evan Almighty,” Adam Sandler laffer “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” and “The Bourne Ultimatum,” it doesn’t have a lot of continuing franchises in the works for next year and beyond.

In addition to a third “Mummy,” studio has been keen to develop “Meet the Little Focker” and a remake of “The Wolf Man.” Last year it purchased Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy 2″ out of turnaround from Sony and Revolution.

But U has largely been seeking to avoid making tentpoles for the sake of tentpoles. U and 20th Century Fox recently backed out of vidgame adaptation “Halo” in part because of its hefty $145 million budget.